Donald Trump has been accused by Felipe Calderon of ‘exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time’.
Photograph: Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images

Two former Mexican presidents have compared Donald Trump’s to Adolf Hitler as the cross-border war of words over the Republican presidential frontrunner’s immigration rhetoric intensified.

Mexicans fear Trump rhetoric is a poison that will infect US border policy

Read more

Felipe Calderon, a conservative who was president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, told reporters at an event in Mexico City on Saturday that Trump’s political rhetoric was “racist” and evocative of the Nazi dictator.

“This logic of praising the white supremacy is not just anti-immigration,” Calderon said. “He is acting and speaking out against immigrants that have a different skin color than he does, it is frankly racist and [he is] exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time,” Calderon said.

Calderon added that Trump’s discourse was “sowing hate” against the United States around the world and that was “not in Washington’s interest”.

Trump has accused Mexico of sending rapists and drug runners across the US border and has vowed to make Mexico pay for a wall on the border.

“He’s going to take the US back to the old days of conflict, war and everything. I mean, he reminds me of Hitler. That’s the way he started speaking,” Fox told Cooper in a phone interview.

“He has offended Mexico, Mexicans, and immigrants. He has offended the Pope. He has offended the Chinese. He’s offended everybody.”

It is the second time Fox has hit out at Trump. Last week he said in another TV interview that he would “not pay for that fucking wall” and also called Trump “crazy,” a “false prophet” and an embarrassment to his party.

During a visit to Mexico’s capital, Vice President Joe Biden apologised for the inflammatory rhetoric about Mexico in the campaign.

“Some of the rhetoric coming from some of the presidential candidates on the other team are I think dangerous, damaging and incredibly ill-advised,” Biden said on Thursday. “But here’s what I’m here to tell you: They do not, they do not, they do not represent the view of the vast majority of the American people.”